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Edmund's Shovel  
 

Lore Item No Trade Quest Item
Charges: Unlimited
Effect: Grave Dig (Any Slot, Casting Time: 0.5)
Recast Delay: 1000 seconds, Recast Type: -1
WT: 0.6 Size: MEDIUM
Class: ALL
Race: ALL

Item Type:Misc
Stackable:No
Lucy Entry By:Silfh V'Ester
Item Updated By:Gidono
Source:Live
IC Last Updated:2022-01-19 01:45:03
Page Updated:Fri Jan 24th, 2020

Expansion: Seeds of Destruction Seeds of Destruction


Rarity: Common
Level to Attain: 1

[Given | Quests | Comments ]

Obtained From

This item is obtained from NPCs.

Plane of Knowledge
NPC Name Expansion
Edmund Strangeways


Quests

This item is used in quests.
Expansion List - Premium only.


Zone(s) Found In:


Zone Name
Plane of Knowledge
Screenshot

Uploaded November 4th, 2015 by SCindyee
Updated October 12th, 2017
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shrouding
# Oct 26 2009 at 12:55 PM Rating: Decent
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77 posts
You can shroud and get the quest at a lower level, but unshrouding and going to the buried earth *graves* in the lower-level zones will not work. Apparently it does a check for the toon's current level when you click the shovel. (I did not try staying shrouded as that defeats the idea.)
The mobs that spawn in Field of Scale are all undead and /con as "weak" (they quad but miss often and hit like other weak mobs in the zone). Only the "a tattooed zombie" will bring the tattooed skin, so many people just leave the mobs up (rude). The piles will repop even with a previous spawn still there, and if you have IVU on you can use the shovel without the previous spawns attacking you. (Using the shovel should break invis/ivu but doesn't seem to.)
The lockout on the digging task is 18-hours from when you get the task, although you do not get the actual lockout unless you finish the task. (This is the same mechanic on all the timed tasks and why it appears to vary -- people take different amounts of time to complete tasks.)
You must complete the Digging Their Graves task at least four times to complete the The Hunt for Tattooed Flesh task -- maybe five but I cannot see the final step yet.
pile respawn
# Oct 26 2009 at 9:33 AM Rating: Decent
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I think the piles are linked .. not one to another but only so many can be up at a time and when the mob that spawns from the rocks dies .. another pile appears ... the piles do appear to spawn in the same spots, but I have also seen the same pile spawn 3x in a row ...
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Silfh V'Ester - Holy Defender of Koada'Vie
Mahlah Tohsis - Spiritwalker
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The Steppes
# Oct 25 2009 at 1:19 PM Rating: Decent
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to a level 72 in the steppes:

mobs were light blue to dark blue con from piles.

and this task has a 6 hour time limit on it.
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Mahlah Tohsis - Spiritwalker
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cons
# Oct 25 2009 at 10:25 AM Rating: Decent
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In Loping Plains, to lvl 83:

frenzied skeleton - con'd dark blue
frenzied spirit - con'd dark blue
a tattoed zombie - con'd light blue (dropped skin for task)
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Silfh V'Ester - Holy Defender of Koada'Vie
Mahlah Tohsis - Spiritwalker
Povar
Field of Scale, probably
# Oct 25 2009 at 12:05 AM Rating: Decent
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For the higher level, he said Field of Scale (vice field of bone) ...
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Mahlah Tohsis - Spiritwalker
Povar
Hmmm
# Oct 24 2009 at 8:36 PM Rating: Decent
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I got directed to LP or FoS as well.

Task said "All" zones so I hit the Steppes to experiment. Found one right away. It would not let me open, attack or use the shovel on it -- so you have to go to the zones noted.

You get a "master" task called, "The Hunt for Tattoed Flesh." along with another task called "Digging Their Graves," (3 steps) which is a step of the master task (5 steps).

Edited, Oct 26th 2009 4:26pm by GOMN

Edited, Oct 26th 2009 5:09pm by GOMN
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Hmmm
# Oct 24 2009 at 9:14 PM Rating: Decent
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OK -- it worked fine in LP....

So ... based on my experience so far...

* You can't go to alternate zones with Disturbed Earth in them and do it.

In Loping Plains...

When you click the shovel on the earth, you will get either A Frenzied Spirit (ghost elf model) Frenzied Bones (red skeleton model) A Frenzied Banshee (ghost banshee model)... all light blue at 85.

The one you want is A Tattooed Zombie (also light blue at 85).

Kill it and loot Intricately Tattooed Skin (Lore, No Trade, weight 0.6).

Task is called: Digging Their Graves

Steps are:

Loot 1 Intricately Tattoed Skin 0/1 ALL
Edmund wants his shovel back 0/1 PoK
Deliver 1 Inticately Tattoeed Skin to Edmund Strangeways 0/1 PoK

Reward was:

Just text as noted by someone else in another post.

No XP, No Coin, No faction, No Coin.

16 Hr. 30 Min, lockout.


Edited, Oct 26th 2009 5:11pm by GOMN
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Hmmm
# Oct 24 2009 at 9:31 PM Rating: Decent
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I can't test this, due to lock out... but if you want the lower level version to make it easier (it wasnt hard as it was) (soloed it), maybe you can shroud, get task and then unshroud.
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Hmmm
# Oct 25 2009 at 9:17 AM Rating: Decent
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Found this on EQ Players:

Zones for this task by level are:


1 - 22 Nek/LoIo

23 - 32 - Emerald Jungle / FV

50 - 72 - Steppes / barren coast

73 - 85 FoS/LP
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Hmmm
# Oct 25 2009 at 2:25 PM Rating: Decent
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2nd Task in series has same name and same steps, etc.


After the 2nd task.. Edmund says:

Emdmund Strangeways flips the piece of flesh this way and that, comparing it to the one in his other hand. "They Match. By the gods, they match. Only twice in my long wanderings have i seen the same patterns, and only once have i seen any {writings} about them.

(say writings)

In the forest grave I slaughtered the undead. He rose out of the ground shrieling and clawing at my cloak; I struck his neck with the point of my shovel, lopping his head into the fresh earth. His enchantment was weak. When his convulsing stopped, I laid him on his stomach. The tattoo on his back was faded, and much of his skin had rotted away. But a moldy {pocket} still held somethign worthwhile.

(say pocket)

A book of prayers: paeans to Bertoxxulous, lamentations over a lost temple, and incantations for sacred embalming rites. The verses told of the journey of the dead to their final rest, to the place where they would live anew in the diseased embrace of their god. They spoke of the immortal path being upon them. I had to find more of these tattooed adherents and learn thier dark secrets. And so must you. Find more flesh.

This time my lockout was 17:30.

Edited, Oct 26th 2009 5:07pm by GOMN
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Hmmm
# Oct 26 2009 at 3:07 PM Rating: Decent
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3rd Task done.

Same steps as first two.

This time I went to Feild of Scale as the illusion mask made running about much easier.

In lucked up and got A Tattoed Zombie on my first Distrubed Earth. Here in FoS it conned Dark blue at 85.

After the hand ins the text was:

Edmund Strangeways snatches the piece of flesh from your hands and fits it with the others. They form what looks to be trees, a mountain and a path. "I was not honest with you before. I found three corpses, not two. years ago, I was digging in the backwaters near Qeynos. A bedraggled clan of men had settled amid the ruins of an abandoned village that must have been an outpost during the days of {Bayle}.

(Bayle)

During the ravages of the Cult of Bertoxxulous. Something must have remained in the soil: the children and elders of the clan fell ill and died shortly after they had arrived. In the hills outside the village, I laid them to rest, like I had done before, as though shoveling dirt over the faces of my brothers, my village elders. I covered the last child when the {sun} fell into its own grave behind the hills.

(sun)

In the dark of twilight I rested on my shovel. Dusk grew into night, and I removed myself further into the hills. I walked among broken stones...scattered headstones that turned monuments to individuals into a mass grave, annonymous and forgotten. I sat and waited until Luclin rose. By it's light I spied a mound. The earth was fresh. I dug madly. Fingernails, fingers, palms, arms...and then emerged a face. a {female} face.

(female)

A priestess perhaps, regal. Her skin looked pale in the gray light, but it was intact. i peered closer, and her eyes flicked back and forth. Her mouth was open, but her chest did not rise or fall. I crept into the grave next to her and carefully scooped away the remaining dirt, slowly, slowly, no daring to {startle} her.

(startle)

She lay still for a moment. I was amazed: but for excess pallor, she was intact. I merely put a hand on her shoulder, for one moment, to lift her up. She tore into me. My arm gushed blood froma wound she raked with sharpened talons. Shrieking like a cornered beast, she scrabbled against the side of the grave, whcih reached just above her head. And as I clutched my arm, I got my first view of her {back}.

(back)

The tattoo. It covered her entire back, in flawless detail. Not a peice was missing. I saw the temple moving side to side and up and down as the undead woman kept climbing up and slipping back down the side of the grave. I wanted a closer look, but she tiurned on me, wailing and slashing. I struck her with the flat of my shovel until her limbs {stopped} flailing.

(stopped)

She yet lived - of you can call it that. I dragged her to a small, collapsed vault, of which only the entrance remained. I placed her inside and secured the rusty gate with the handle of my shovel. She began shrieking again, no doubt frightening the wolves from the hills. I could not examine her like this. My thought was to give her {time}.

(time)

Most of the dead I find don't live past Harcester's haunt. But I almost hoped she would. Then there might be some chance...of seeing the dead live on, of seeing a life after death not of undead mindlessness, but of recovered sentience. As much as I wanted to see that map, I wanted her to truly live. I turned back for the {village}, nd her screasm followed me.

(village)

I spent the next week in the village during the day and the crypt at night. When the sun would go down, I'd slip away and head into the hills. I left scrolls and books for her to read, but they were torn up the next day. Some nights i slept by the crypt and endured her howling. In the morning, when I'd draw near, she would still be awake, eyes darting, teeth bared. She was always facing me, always watching, and I never could get a glimpse at her vack, So, I'd return to the village and face another day of frightened {rumors}.

(rumors)

The Villagers heard her screams at night. They heard her howls echoing among the hills. They thought their dead clansmen were angry with them for bringing them to the village to die. The villagers huddled in their homes abd around their fires, waiting for thr rnd of Harvester Haunt, for the end of their loved ones' castigation, But it did not {end}.

(end)

To my amazement, she was still living. Harvester's Haunt had been over for a week, and still she was howling. I resolved to open the vault. I had to know. Was the power of Bertoxxulous this strong? Was the sewer of disease also the reaper of immortality? I had to ask. And she would answer me one way or another...But the villagers had other {ideas}.

(ideas)

The simpeltons were alarmed that their dead clansmen were still wailing after te close of the Haunt. In their fear, they became angry. One night, as I was about to slip away, they gathered and called for an end to their suffering. They would fan out into the hills and {silence} their crying clansmen.

(silence)

My captive began to wail, as she did every night. There was nothing I could do. Swords and torches marched in a burning cluster into the darkened hills. They followed the cries, and i followed the villagers, knowing my captive's time was at an end. The creis were peircing as the tiorchlight crept across the splintered gravestones. And there she was, mouth agape, hands clenched aroound the bars of the {gate}.

(gate)

The villagers reeled back as she let out another scream, but one brave man hopped forward and yanked the showvel from the gate. The woman burst out and ran parallel to the crowd. I though for a moment she might escape, but the man holding my shovel set upon her and began to beat her abou the head. The other villagers gathered around, and i turned away when i saw all the flashes of metal arcing in the {torchlight}.

(torchlight)

The burned her body. After the swords had cut off her screams, they cast all of their torches onto her mangled form. A pyre blazed around her as they trudged home in darkness. I slept by her, keeping warm, knowing with every crackle and spark that I wuld never know her secrets, never know what arcane spells and concotions had kept her alive, never know where her map would lead. I decided to stay with her until morning. the morning...why? Would I have stayed if i had known what would {happen}?

(happen)

Edmund Strangeways narrows his eyes and seems to withdraw inward. "No, I best not be talking of such things right now. You still have work to do. I need those skins. Perhaps we'll talk later.

2 steps left in the master task, "The hunt for Tattoeed Flesh."

17.5 hour lock out.

Edited, Oct 26th 2009 5:13pm by GOMN
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lvl 57
# Oct 24 2009 at 7:55 PM Rating: Decent
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At level 57, he offeres Barren Coast or Goru'Kar mesa.

Edmund Strangeways cons light blue to lvl 57.
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Silfh V'Ester - Holy Defender of Koada'Vie
Mahlah Tohsis - Spiritwalker
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Edmund Strangeways
# Oct 24 2009 at 11:21 AM Rating: Decent
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Given as part of the task "Digging the Graves" by Edmund Strangeways (Gravedigger) .. in PoK.

For a level 83, he told me to look in Loping Plains or Field of Scale.
For a level 72, he told me to look in Loping Plains or the Steppes.

I took the level 83 to the Steppes, no undead on sense undead .. and when I found a pile of brown rocks called "a disturbed earth", I could not /open or attack but when I clicked the shovel, it told me "The graves in this area have nothing of interest to you".

Going to Loping Plains to see.

Dialogue for "Digging the Graves"

[Sat Oct 24 20:42:48 2009] You say, 'Hail, Edmund Strangeways'
[Sat Oct 24 20:42:49 2009] Edmund Strangeways leans on his shovel and peers at you from beneath a wrinkled brow. 'You fool, step carefully! You're disturbing my graves! And aren't you a brash one, running here and there without a care during Harvester's Haunt, oblivious to the [danger] lurking beneath your feet!'
[Sat Oct 24 20:43:03 2009] You tell your party, 'calls is .. during Harvesters Haunt'
[Sat Oct 24 20:43:04 2009] You say, 'danger'
[Sat Oct 24 20:43:06 2009] Edmund Strangeways says 'This time of year the dead are [restless]. They can't lie still.'
[Sat Oct 24 20:43:08 2009] You say, 'restless'
[Sat Oct 24 20:43:09 2009] Edmund Strangeways says 'I know the dead. I've been putting them in the ground for many [years], and they've taken me to every corner of Norrath. If there's a fire, a plague, a battle, I am there. The dead need burying. But you best bury them deep, for every Harvester's Haunt they toss and turn, yearning to breach the barrier of earth and rejoin the living. It's the right time to [find] them.'
[Sat Oct 24 20:43:13 2009] You say, 'years'
[Sat Oct 24 20:43:14 2009] Edmund Strangeways says 'I've been digging graves since I was but a lad. The disease came swiftly, decimated my village. I buried my friends, my sister, my brother. I buried my father and mother on the hill overlooking our farm. I buried them all, every last one. The village square looked freshly tilled by a herd of oxen, sewn with the seeds of death. The wind in the trees and the rasp of metal was all I heard when I scraped my shovel over the last pile of dirt, packing the soil over the face of the village elder. Not one voice called after me as I walked out of town, carrying my shovel. Somewhere there were more people dying. Somewhere there were more graves to dig.'
[Sat Oct 24 20:43:16 2009] You say, 'find'
[Sat Oct 24 20:43:17 2009] Edmund Strangeways says 'The twitching of the dead churns the soil, and disturbed earth rises. You see a gopher's burrow, I see revealed graves of men long dead and [hidden].'
[Sat Oct 24 20:43:22 2009] You say, 'hidden'
[Sat Oct 24 20:43:23 2009] Edmund Strangeways says 'Ah, made you curious, did I? You may be naive and foolhardy, but I know an adventurer when I see one. I'm old and stiff. . .too many years with the shovel. My legs won't carry me far. But you could go in my stead. You could [bring] me what I [seek].'
[Sat Oct 24 20:43:26 2009] You say, 'bring'
[Sat Oct 24 20:43:27 2009] Edmund Strangeways says 'Now is the time to find the ancient corpses. Those long dead reveal themselves in the disturbed earth. The art they hide on their bodies hasn't been seen for hundreds of years. Just imagine what beautiful sights and mysteries have been lost from the world all this time. Dig up the corpses and bring me any tattooed skin you find. Here, take my shovel. By the looks of you, I'd say you should head to the Field of Scale or the Loping Plains. The dead there are worth your while. But be careful: restless as they are, the dead don't take kindly to your disturbing their place of slumber. If you forget where to dig, come to me, and I'll remind you.'
[Sat Oct 24 20:43:27 2009] You have been assigned the task 'Digging Their Graves'.
[Sat Oct 24 20:43:39 2009] You tell your party, 'Edmund's Shovel'
[Sat Oct 24 20:44:01 2009] You tell your party, 'loot 1 intricately tattooed skin is the first step'
[Sat Oct 24 20:44:07 2009] You say, 'seek'
[Sat Oct 24 20:44:08 2009] Edmund Strangeways says 'Many corpses have I seen, and many coins have I earned for disposing of them. But money can rot for all I care. I'll be dead soon, and someone will bury me. All that matters is my [collection].'
[Sat Oct 24 20:44:10 2009] You say, 'collection'
[Sat Oct 24 20:44:11 2009] Edmund Strangeways says 'That ephemeral art that dissolves with a man's flesh--tattoos. Before I cover the dead, I search every inch of their bodies. Such beautiful paintings on rotting canvas. . .I cut them free and preserve them. You should see the [images] that hang on my walls.'
[Sat Oct 24 20:44:13 2009] Lourre tells the group, 'ah'
[Sat Oct 24 20:44:16 2009] You say, 'images'
[Sat Oct 24 20:44:18 2009] Edmund Strangeways says 'A mother, a father, a town, a ship's maiden voyage, a lover's face--things we wish were eternal but know are not. Images of the dead on the skin of the dead, all fading from time and memory. [Bring] them to me, and I'll preserve them.'
[Sat Oct 24 20:44:20 2009] You say, 'bring'
[Sat Oct 24 20:44:22 2009] Edmund Strangeways says 'Now is the time to find the ancient corpses. Those long dead reveal themselves in the disturbed earth. The art they hide on their bodies hasn't been seen for hundreds of years. Just imagine what beautiful sights and mysteries have been lost from the world all this time. Dig up the corpses and bring me any tattooed skin you find. Here, take my shovel. By the looks of you, I'd say you should head to the Field of Scale or the Loping Plains. The dead there are worth your while. But be careful: restless as they are, the dead don't take kindly to your disturbing their place of slumber. If you forget where to dig, come to me, and I'll remind you.'
____________________________
Silfh V'Ester - Holy Defender of Koada'Vie
Mahlah Tohsis - Spiritwalker
Povar
Edmund Strangeways
# Oct 24 2009 at 6:51 PM Rating: Decent
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At level 66 he sent me to my choice of Steppes or Buried Sea. I chose the latter and ran around finding piles of "disturbed earth". Use the shovel on those and you'll either get a disturbed spirit of some sort, or a tattoed zombie. The zombie drops the skin Edmund wants. The task then updates to say Edmund wants his shovel back; I gave him the shovel and skin and:

Your task 'Digging Their Graves' has been updated.
Your task 'Digging Their Graves' has been updated.
You have been assigned the task 'The Hunt for Tattooed Flesh'.
Your task 'The Hunt for Tattooed Flesh' has been updated.
Edmund Strangeways' hands tremble as he holds up the tattooed skin. 'I've seen these markings before, once on a corpse in the mass graves of a plague-ridden village, again in a forgotten crypt in a dark forest half a continent away. But they were like two pieces of the same puzzle. Both times it was during Harvester's Haunt, and I've been searching ever since. Can you find more?'
You have done enough grave digging for one day. Perhaps you will feel up to digging again another day.

I looked at my tasks for The Hunt for Tattooed Flesh. It shows that I've completed the first step:

Edmund has inspected the tattooed skin you delivered

and the next step is the same, but 0/1 complete so far. Looks like you need to repeat Digging Their Graves several times to finish the Hunt. When I tell Edmund I'll [bring] more, I find there's what looks like an 18-hour timeout (counting from when I accepted the first Digging quest). And though the number of lines in the Task window is sometimes screwy, it looks like there are 5 steps to the Hunt, but I don't know how many of those are repeating the Dugging quest.
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-- Mystic Coercion, EMarr
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